Category Archives: 30th Anniversary

President Rhonda Messamore opened the Spring 2011 meeting of the IC&RC Board of Directors with the bang of a gavel – and a heartfelt speech about the 30th anniversary.

“With this meeting, we kick off IC&RC’s anniversary, ‘Celebrating 30 Years of Setting Standards for Addiction Professionals.’ According to some traditions, the 30th wedding anniversary is the pearl anniversary. We’ve taken the pearl as a symbol for this year. Think about it: a pearl begins as a grain of sand, but oh-so-slowly, over time, the oyster turns this irritation into a beautiful treasure. A pearl represents healing from imperfection, creating beauty and meaning from pain.”

“This imagery resonated strongly for me, and I hope it does for you too. Our very work has at its foundation a world of hurt – the pain that drives addiction, and the pain that it causes, in individuals, in families and in communities. But slowly, with persistence, through the long, hard effort of counselors and prevention specialists, many of these wounds have been healed – and miraculous beauty has come from them. Through the long, patient work of certification boards, clients and their families can rest easy knowing they are working with competent, ethical professionals. Funders and employers know they are working from the latest, evidence-based practices.”

The Certification Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, Inc. adopted bylaws and articles of incorporation in South Bend, Indiana in 1981. At that time, the first office of the consortium was located in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

After three decades, IC&RC is stronger than ever. It represents 76 certification boards and more than 43,000 reciprocal-level certified professionals. The organization now administers more than 8,000 examinations a year.

Last week in Denver, Colorado, more than 75 delegates from Member Boards gathered to set the direction for the future of the international organization. Being in Colorado was made all the more special, when the Colorado Prevention Certification Board was joyfully welcomed into the organization. Carmelita Muniz, Mary Anne Burdick, and Cheryl Reid represented the new board at the meeting and already made their contributions clear.

I’m also happy to announce that Tammi Lewis, LPC, AADC, ALPS, Therapist at CAMC Family Resource Center in Charleston, West Virginia, is the new co-chair of the Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (AADC) Committee. Frank Davis, IAADC, ICCJP, LCDC, of the Texas Certification Board of Addiction Professionals has agreed to become the new co-chair of the Certified Criminal Justice Addictions Professional (CCJP) committee.

The Peer Recovery Support Specialist credential is continuing toward adoption. Based on three states that already offer a peer recovery credential, minimum standards have been developed, and the credential will undergo IC&RC’s evaluation process over the next six months.

As our 30th anniversary year continues, the staff is working to make all of our activities special. So don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Fall Meeting – October 25 to 27 in Orlando, Florida. See you there!

Lady Diana Spencer married Charles, Prince of Wales, the year that IC&RC was founded. Remarkably, another royal wedding is slated for the organization’s 30th Anniversary year.

1981 was also the year of Luke and Laura on “General Hospital,” Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the Major League Baseball strike. “Jessie’s Girl” and “Kiss on My List” dominated the airwaves. MTV launched 30 years ago, and IBM released the original personal computer.

Three decades have passed since assassination attempts against U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II rocked the world. Sandra Day O’Connor was named the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice in history. After 19 years hosting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signed off for the last time.

In the Mid-Atlantic, spring is gearing up, and we’re seeing crocuses and the buds of daffodils. That also means that the IC&RC staff is gearing up for our Spring Meeting in Denver, Colorado.

Slated for April 26 to 28, the first meeting of our 30th Anniversary year promises to be an exciting, productive one. Three notices have gone out with meeting information, but if you haven’t submitted your registration forms or booked a room yet, we’re providing the details again below.

Speaking of the Anniversary, we are viewing this year as an opportunity to capture as much of IC&RC’s history as possible, and we hope you can help us. We will be emailing an invitation to the IC&RC History Survey shortly, and I ask that you give it your highest attention.

It is with the warmest heart that I welcome 2011. It promises to be another banner year for IC&RC, all the more so because it is the organization’s 30th anniversary.

If you haven’t read the history of IC&RC, now might be a good time to remind yourself of our earliest days and the efforts that brought us to where we are today: the largest organization dedicated to addiction-related behavioral healthcare credentialing. We represent at least 40,000 professionals worldwide, and that number is only expected to grow.

Our profession is needed more than ever, a fact recognized by the federal government. While we don’t yet know exactly how landmark legislation of 2010 will be implemented, we are glad to be at the table, working with federal agencies to help shape the conversation.

You can look forward to more recognition of the anniversary as the year progresses, but for now, let’s all say “Happy New Year, IC&RC!”